hello friend
Arcane
!!!
-
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In Progress [LP CYOA] Tower
- Thread starter treave
- Start date
Lithium Flower
Arcane
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2016
- Messages
- 1,832
here come dat lazarus!!!!!!
o shit waddup!
o shit waddup!
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2020
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- 17,656
What now, doubters?
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2008
- Messages
- 11,370
Bedlam (I)
You decide to trust the Hound. Beads of blood well forth from the wound on your thumb, and with Harold preoccupied in surgery there is nothing to stop you from approaching the canister. The lid pops off and you quickly flick your blood within. And as the red mixes with the glowing green, you can faintly hear Uridimmu's low, guttural chuckling. The liquid, now containing part of you, is drawn through the tubes and towards the old man's corpse. Harold's busy hands pause as he senses something off. He whips his head towards you, his eyes bulging.
His teeth drawn back in a rictus, he hisses. "What did you-"
The corpse's tattoos glow with a blinding red light, shifting and undulating across the wizened skin like snakes writhing in their death throes. The light fades to black, and as both you and Harold watch aghast, the tattoos reform into chains seared across the wizened flesh. The old man's eyes and mouth open wide in a soundless scream, flame bursting from his orifices. Then, the room explodes in a fiery conflagration. The shockwave throws you against the wall and you crumple to the floor senseless.
Screams amidst fire.
Your father and your mother, in agony as they lay over you, trying to protect you even unto their deaths.
The flames eating into you, devouring your flesh, ever hungry.
Pain.
The pain.
It lances into your brain, banishing the oppressive, sweltering heat fogging your mind, and you open your eyes. Groggily, you attempt to scramble to your feet. The room is still on fire, and in the midst of it you see the old man standing upright. He is holding Harold up with one hand, fingers curled tightly around the young doctor's neck. The black chains across his body seem to be smoldering, and you can see wounds across his body - punctures and slices where it seems Harold had tried to fight back with his Astra. Still, the wounds are bloodless. Noticing that you have regained consciousness, the old man grins and drops Harold to the ground unceremoniously. Harold groans, unconscious but yet alive.
He chuckles, and speaks. You hear his voice both croaking from the corpse's lips and echoing in your head.
"You have my thanks for this vessel, boy."
Grimacing, you spit at him in reply. "You lied."
Uridimmu's smile widens, showing a full array of sharp teeth that you were sure the old man did not have before. "You wound me with your words. I certainly did not. Did I not say that things would not end well if you did not add your blood to that infernal mixture?"
Things certainly did not seem well right now. Sensing your displeasure, Uridimmu howls in mirth and shakes his creaky old head. "It would have been worse if you had not intervened. This city and its inhabitants would have been no more in a matter of moments. As it is, you certainly have prevented a true disaster by allowing me the temporary use of this fine vessel instead of... something else."
From the outside, you can hear faint screams.
"Alas, there are side effects to an impromptu summoning of my mighty soul without the proper containment. Pleasing as it is to the alternative, I suppose you humans might still find it troubling. Some of the dead now walk the earth, transformed after their bestial true self and giving into their baser instincts of wanton violence."
Uridimmu turns away from you, walking away. "But that is none of my concern. Ah, to be able to stretch my limbs after millennia... such joy it is... the hunt will be marvelous..." He seems to have no interest in explaining his future plans now that he has a body in the real world to work with.
You glare at his back as you try to understand what has happened, and what you should do first...
***
A. You need to find Elizabeth in her ward and make sure she is safe. She's still in the hospital, and the hospital is the most dangerous place to be right now.
B. You have to get to Rain first. She must still be sleeping in the orderlies' room and you need to retrieve her as soon as you can.
C. You stop Uridimmu from leaving. He started this mess and he is going to help you end it. You are not sure if you can talk him into helping you, but you are sure matters will be much simpler if he does.
You decide to trust the Hound. Beads of blood well forth from the wound on your thumb, and with Harold preoccupied in surgery there is nothing to stop you from approaching the canister. The lid pops off and you quickly flick your blood within. And as the red mixes with the glowing green, you can faintly hear Uridimmu's low, guttural chuckling. The liquid, now containing part of you, is drawn through the tubes and towards the old man's corpse. Harold's busy hands pause as he senses something off. He whips his head towards you, his eyes bulging.
His teeth drawn back in a rictus, he hisses. "What did you-"
The corpse's tattoos glow with a blinding red light, shifting and undulating across the wizened skin like snakes writhing in their death throes. The light fades to black, and as both you and Harold watch aghast, the tattoos reform into chains seared across the wizened flesh. The old man's eyes and mouth open wide in a soundless scream, flame bursting from his orifices. Then, the room explodes in a fiery conflagration. The shockwave throws you against the wall and you crumple to the floor senseless.
Screams amidst fire.
Your father and your mother, in agony as they lay over you, trying to protect you even unto their deaths.
The flames eating into you, devouring your flesh, ever hungry.
Pain.
The pain.
It lances into your brain, banishing the oppressive, sweltering heat fogging your mind, and you open your eyes. Groggily, you attempt to scramble to your feet. The room is still on fire, and in the midst of it you see the old man standing upright. He is holding Harold up with one hand, fingers curled tightly around the young doctor's neck. The black chains across his body seem to be smoldering, and you can see wounds across his body - punctures and slices where it seems Harold had tried to fight back with his Astra. Still, the wounds are bloodless. Noticing that you have regained consciousness, the old man grins and drops Harold to the ground unceremoniously. Harold groans, unconscious but yet alive.
He chuckles, and speaks. You hear his voice both croaking from the corpse's lips and echoing in your head.
"You have my thanks for this vessel, boy."
Grimacing, you spit at him in reply. "You lied."
Uridimmu's smile widens, showing a full array of sharp teeth that you were sure the old man did not have before. "You wound me with your words. I certainly did not. Did I not say that things would not end well if you did not add your blood to that infernal mixture?"
Things certainly did not seem well right now. Sensing your displeasure, Uridimmu howls in mirth and shakes his creaky old head. "It would have been worse if you had not intervened. This city and its inhabitants would have been no more in a matter of moments. As it is, you certainly have prevented a true disaster by allowing me the temporary use of this fine vessel instead of... something else."
From the outside, you can hear faint screams.
"Alas, there are side effects to an impromptu summoning of my mighty soul without the proper containment. Pleasing as it is to the alternative, I suppose you humans might still find it troubling. Some of the dead now walk the earth, transformed after their bestial true self and giving into their baser instincts of wanton violence."
Uridimmu turns away from you, walking away. "But that is none of my concern. Ah, to be able to stretch my limbs after millennia... such joy it is... the hunt will be marvelous..." He seems to have no interest in explaining his future plans now that he has a body in the real world to work with.
You glare at his back as you try to understand what has happened, and what you should do first...
***
A. You need to find Elizabeth in her ward and make sure she is safe. She's still in the hospital, and the hospital is the most dangerous place to be right now.
B. You have to get to Rain first. She must still be sleeping in the orderlies' room and you need to retrieve her as soon as you can.
C. You stop Uridimmu from leaving. He started this mess and he is going to help you end it. You are not sure if you can talk him into helping you, but you are sure matters will be much simpler if he does.
- Joined
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*sigh* Doggy just had to pick the old man as a vessel instead of Liz. Though I guess that's more our fault for not taking his help much earlier in the story.
As usual, we've gotten ourselves into quite the predicament. Sad that we've lost our pal's internal commentary, but happy he's giving the dull bugman city life some much needed flavor.
Even though I am, as always, on Team Hound, I wonder if Liz has been razed back to consciousness along with the dead? That, or if she'll burn to death without our help.
Then again, with all this fire and chaos, we risk being separated from Rain - though she's a lot less likely to burn to death here than Liz is if she's still unconscious.
As to C, I think our best friend here isn't likely to stop unless we appeal to pack logic. Maybe offer to join his hunt...for whatever or whomever it is... Though getting in his way could also be a mistake. I think it's unlikely he's going to be distracted from his own goals at the moment to help us though.
I'm going A>B in trying to pick the most logical choices. C is too big a gamble. Chaos demons aren't known for their firefighting skills.
As usual, we've gotten ourselves into quite the predicament. Sad that we've lost our pal's internal commentary, but happy he's giving the dull bugman city life some much needed flavor.
Even though I am, as always, on Team Hound, I wonder if Liz has been razed back to consciousness along with the dead? That, or if she'll burn to death without our help.
Then again, with all this fire and chaos, we risk being separated from Rain - though she's a lot less likely to burn to death here than Liz is if she's still unconscious.
As to C, I think our best friend here isn't likely to stop unless we appeal to pack logic. Maybe offer to join his hunt...for whatever or whomever it is... Though getting in his way could also be a mistake. I think it's unlikely he's going to be distracted from his own goals at the moment to help us though.
I'm going A>B in trying to pick the most logical choices. C is too big a gamble. Chaos demons aren't known for their firefighting skills.
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2012
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- 30,251
No I wanna punch him in, he's an old guy now and I can finally cross that deed off my list.
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2020
- Messages
- 17,656
Me said:
Good Idea Fairies said:
Treave said:
I'm like a fuckin Cassandra. You people, I swear.
On the plus side, we have some tasty new evidence to mull over:
Backstory fragment.
Doggo didn't immediately go on a killing spree. Also didn't attack us.
(1)
Doesn't look like it
(2) He thanked us. Hmmmm.
Looks like he's not hunting (physically, at least) forever.
Doggo isn't just a doggo. He's a hound.
My take on this stuff:
Well, we now have evidence that our parents loved us and tried to save us. I think it behooves us to carry on that legacy with Rain. It also appears Uridimmu isn't some mindless killing machine, nor the embodiment of some Chthonic god. Combined with his thanks for our actions (even if it was flippant or sarcastic... who knows?), I take this to be good news. His frame of reality and motivations may be utterly alien to us right now, but at least there's some vanishing chance of building a relationship, and deepening our understanding of the forces at play around us.
It looks like, whatever damage he may cause, the Hound's time in the material world is limited. I wonder if it's possible (or advisable) to bring him permanently into the physical realm? Or what affects the amount of time he has? Is there some metric, possibly related to the quality of the vessel he fills?
Finally, I'm tantalized by his last words from this section. I don't know why, but I get the feeling the Hound is truly that... a hound. Created to hunt some prey. If so, what? A specific being? A species? Something else?
Or maybe it's just a throwaway line referring to his canine nature in general. Too early to tell, I suppose.
treave, may we ask doggo some questions before he leaves, instead of trying to stop him?
Tigranes
Arcane
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2009
- Messages
- 10,359
Lovely to get back to making the greatest mess of our lives.
Liz and Rain are both pretty helpless right now, though I suppose Liz can't even leave the room. I'm skeptical about how much ududu even cares about talking to us, he's finally got legs and testicles, he's got places to be, perhaps.
A>B for now
Liz and Rain are both pretty helpless right now, though I suppose Liz can't even leave the room. I'm skeptical about how much ududu even cares about talking to us, he's finally got legs and testicles, he's got places to be, perhaps.
A>B for now
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- Jul 6, 2008
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- 11,370
You would have to stop him to ask him any questions, so that would fall under C. Feel free to suggest some questions which may or may not be used in the event of a C win.
I suppose on the whole I'm glad it was Uridimmu that got summoned, even though I suggested against it. Better the devil you know...
I vote C. Here's what I'm thinking:
Grab an arm. Ask for a moment of time (in our own, unique way :D), specifying we want to ask three questions first, with the explicit understanding that we're not trying to force him to answer or to stay (we have other, more urgent business to attend to anyway); we just want to ask before he's off.
(1) what name are you most comfortable with?
The idea here is that we should show respect for the fact he didn't slit our throat - and for that matter, Harold's throat - while we were knocked out. And to begin building some kind of understanding between each other outside of "reluctant host/master/what-have-you vs. fractious, frustrated and devious slave/rider/guest".
(2) how far can his voice reach us while he's manifested? How far can our voice reach him?
Useful knowledge for us to have. Useful for him if we know too, if he thinks about it.
(3) what (or who) is your preferred prey?
Same goal. Main thing I want out of this (along with a pony and a nuclear submarine) is an idea of his primary motivation. It could be useful for influencing/channeling him later.
I vote C. Here's what I'm thinking:
Grab an arm. Ask for a moment of time (in our own, unique way :D), specifying we want to ask three questions first, with the explicit understanding that we're not trying to force him to answer or to stay (we have other, more urgent business to attend to anyway); we just want to ask before he's off.
(1) what name are you most comfortable with?
The idea here is that we should show respect for the fact he didn't slit our throat - and for that matter, Harold's throat - while we were knocked out. And to begin building some kind of understanding between each other outside of "reluctant host/master/what-have-you vs. fractious, frustrated and devious slave/rider/guest".
(2) how far can his voice reach us while he's manifested? How far can our voice reach him?
Useful knowledge for us to have. Useful for him if we know too, if he thinks about it.
(3) what (or who) is your preferred prey?
Same goal. Main thing I want out of this (along with a pony and a nuclear submarine) is an idea of his primary motivation. It could be useful for influencing/channeling him later.
ChumBucket
Augur
- Joined
- May 16, 2010
- Messages
- 349
I never claimed he wouldn't get out. My opinion was that Uridimmu was not an immediate game over button. I just thought playing with doggo might spice up the story, and our character had justifiable motivation to take the risk. Almost every character in a story makes mistakes along the course of a narrative. Ones that never stumble risk becoming one dimensional. How they deal with the fallout helps define them just as much as when they succeed.
As for my Vote: B (I have a soft spot for Rain).
As for my Vote: B (I have a soft spot for Rain).
Last edited:
Yeah. That went sideways.
Funny thing, I can't remember what I voted way back then, but right now, I want to do good by Rain.
B
Ah, I see I voted for the winning option a year ago. Good for us! Unleashing god-like beings upon the world inside this Tower!
Never a dull moment.
Funny thing, I can't remember what I voted way back then, but right now, I want to do good by Rain.
B
Ah, I see I voted for the winning option a year ago. Good for us! Unleashing god-like beings upon the world inside this Tower!
Never a dull moment.
A > B
He seems so happy to get to walking around and not having to be our conciensce speaking, why not let him revel in his little vacation? Also the matter of… zombie animals..? potentially being less than cuddly with our fellows. I think Elizabeth is in a more precarious condition than Rain.
He seems so happy to get to walking around and not having to be our conciensce speaking, why not let him revel in his little vacation? Also the matter of… zombie animals..? potentially being less than cuddly with our fellows. I think Elizabeth is in a more precarious condition than Rain.
Overall, I think we ended up with the second best option. Our best bet would've been stopping the scenario, and in hindsight, that was made clear. The hound is clearly untrustworthy, but he also had a vested interest in keeping us alive. It's clear now that he was telling the truth about letting the ritual finish, but the alternative should've been to stop it versus adding our blood to it. Oh well.
As much as I care for Liz, I was all for leaving her and joining the Association in the first place. Now that we've stuck with her, we should definitely do everything we can to help her. That being said, Rain is our number one priority always.
treave It has been so long, would you mind summarizing Rain's current physical and mental status? I remember her growing faster than normal, but can you give us a rough body and mental age estimate? Does Rain have the mental capacity to have proper foresight to hide or stay somewhere safe till we can come and protect her? I'm not asking if she will do that, more so, is it reasonable to expect that as a possibility? I.E, even a smart three year old will sit and cry at the first sign of trouble, while a five or six year old might just run away and hide.
As much as I care for Liz, I was all for leaving her and joining the Association in the first place. Now that we've stuck with her, we should definitely do everything we can to help her. That being said, Rain is our number one priority always.
treave It has been so long, would you mind summarizing Rain's current physical and mental status? I remember her growing faster than normal, but can you give us a rough body and mental age estimate? Does Rain have the mental capacity to have proper foresight to hide or stay somewhere safe till we can come and protect her? I'm not asking if she will do that, more so, is it reasonable to expect that as a possibility? I.E, even a smart three year old will sit and cry at the first sign of trouble, while a five or six year old might just run away and hide.
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- Jul 6, 2008
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- 11,370
At present you can expect her to be closer to a five or six year old in both body and mind, but she boasts a fearlessness uncharacteristic even for toddlers of her age.
Baltika9
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2012
- Messages
- 9,611
Research Assistant Hell. Thanks for the alert.
Uhmmm, I'll go with C. If we can end this shitshow. Liz and Rain should be alright.
hello friend
Arcane
I don't think pissing off the death god is a good idea. Currently it's not actively hostile, and seems even amused concerning us. That's good. It has things to do and places to be, and possibly limited time to do it in. There's no sense getting in its way. Perhaps this amicable relationship might turn into something useful later on, if we don't fuck it up. Either way, we should have gone with DOGE earlier; we missed out on a lot of snacks but no sense crying about the milk. We've been busting our arse being a good Christian with our time so we could stay close to Liz and we'd better damned well make sure she's ok, lest our sunk costs end up buying nothing but tears.
That's an A
That's an A
Maybe Rain will be picked up by the Hound and spirited away, to be schooled in the art of Fucking Over The Protagonist. 
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